Molding-machine.



No. 802,234. PATENTED OCT. 17, 1905 B. F. POTTER. MOLDING- MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.28,1905.

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T/VESSES:

No. 802,234. PATENTED OCT. 17, 1905.

B. F. POTTER.

MOLDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.28,,1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

IIIIIIIIIIQ l llllllllllll WITNESSES:

lflllTlFlU OLDIlNG WIACHlNE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 17, 1905.

Application filed March 28, 1905. Serial No. 252,459.

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN Po'r'rnn, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Ashtabula, in the county of Ashtabnla andState of Ohio, have invented anew and Improved Moldingdvlachine, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to a molding-machine which is capable of moldingarticles of many characters and can be used with plastic materials ofvarious kinds. .It is especially applicable, however,.t the molding ofhollow building-blocks of concrete and the like.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide means forsimultaneously introducing material into a mold and tamping it therein,to provide an efficient arrangement for continuing the tamping operationfrom one end of the mold to the other without diminishing the length ofthe strokes of the tamping device, to provide an efficient arrangementfor drawing cores and the like from the mold, to provide forconveniently removing the molded article after the molding operation iscompleted, to provide for cutting the material in the mold from that inthe feed-box when the mold is filled, and to generally increase theefliciency without complicating the structure of machines of thischaracter.

Further objects of the invention will appear in the course of thesubjoined description.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a moldingmachine for makingbuilding-blocks constructed in accordance with the principle of myinvention. Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3is afragmentary sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is acentral longitudinal section of a portion of the device. Fig. 5 is asectional View on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a sectional view onthe line 6 6 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 7 is a perspective view of abuildingblock which can be made on this machine.

The machine illustrated in the drawings is mounted upon a stationarybase 11, which is provided with rollers 12 and with guides 13 Thesetracks are designed to for tracks 14.

support a frame 15, upon which is mounted a feed-box 16, having a hopper17, an open end 18, and a longitudinal central guide 19.

The plunger for tamping the material is bifurcated, and its two portionsare provided with feet 21, located within the feeder-box, the body ofthe plunger passing through openings 22 in the front end of thefeed-box. This plunger is guided upon opposite sides of the guide 19 andis designed to pass through the open end 18 of the feed-box in a mannerto be described. It may be operated by an engine or by hand, and forconvenience I have illustrated as a means for moving the plunger a lever23, pivotally connected with the plunger through a rod 24; and pivotedat the point 25 to a stationary support 26. If an engine is used, it ismounted in a stationary position. i

The plunger when forced through the open end 18 is designed to pass intoa mold located adjacent to this end of the feed-box. This mold isprovided with a bottom plate 27 pivotally mounted upon a rod 28 andprovided with a front plate 29, rigidly mounted with respect to thebottom and having handles 30 for operating it about the rod 28. It isalso provided with a back plate 31, which may have a face 32 of anydesired coniiguration as, for example, a roughened rock surface or thelike. This plate is located upon an arm 33, pivoted upon a rod 34:. Themold has a top plate 35, which is movably mounted on and operated by ascrew 36, having a handwheel 37. This screw has a bearing in a plate 38,which is mounted in a stationary position with respect to the frame 15.The front and back side plates are designed to be held in closedposition by means of slidinglatches 39, operated by pivoted levers 4.0.The mold also has a sliding end 41, operated by a screw 12 andhand-wheel 13, the screw having screwthreaded engagement with astationary portion of the frame. The other end of the mold is designedto be closed by a plate 44, having slots for the passage of the feet 31of the plunger. This plate is operated by a lever 46, to which it ispivoted, the lever beingin turn pivoted upon a stationary part of theframe 15 and having a handle or treadle 17 Upon this plate is mounted acore-piece 48, which is designed to form a depression in the end of theblock. This core-piece moves with the plate and by the operation of thelever 46.

When the plate and core-piece are in the posithis machine, and 1t lsnotlimited in 1ts usetion shown in Fig. A, the plunger can pass through theperforations L5 and operate in the mold in the desired'manner. On theopposite end of the mold a core-piece 49 is preferably located, and thisis operated bya lever 50, having a handle or treadle 51, both of theselevers being pivoted upon a shaft 52. Upon the same shaft another lever53 is pivoted. This lever has a handle or treadle 54 and is connectedwith a core-plate 55, operating in a guide 56. A core 57 is mounted uponthe core-plate and is designed to pass through an opening 58 in thebottom of the mold. The core may be bifurcated or have as manyprojections as may be desired to produce the requisite number ofopenings in the article to be molded.

Upon the base 11 is a standard 59, having a screw 60, provided with ahand-wheel 61 and designed to engage in a screw-threaded boss 62 on theframe 15 for operating the frame back and forth. The purpose of makingthe frame movable is to provide for the same kind of tamping of themolded article irrespective of the amount of material in the mold. Itwill be seen that with a stationary operating means for the plunger thefilling of the mold would result in forcing the plunger to take ashorter stroke, and consequently the tamping of the material would varyfrom one end of the mold to the other. With the arrangement shown or anyother which is the equivalent thereof the frame can be moved back as themold fills, and consequently the plunger may be given its full stroke atall times and the material will be tamped with equal density in allparts of the mold.

hen the mold is filled through the operation of the plunger and tampedby the same operation, the core-pieces 8,-et9, and 57 are withdrawn bythe operation of the levers with which they are connected, and the plate44 is also withdrawn to cut the block from the material in the feed-box.The cover is then loosened and the rock-faced side swung away from themolded block after the latches 39 on that side are released. The plungerhaving been removed at the time when the block is completed, the bottomand side connected therewith can be swung over upon the pivot 28 and theblock will be found resting upon the side 29 at the side of the machineand can then be readily removed to the drying-kilns or other desiredplace for curing. By the operation of the machine in this manner it isfound that blocks can be molded with much more uniform density and thatthey will consequently last much longer in use. It is also found thatthey can be produced at a rapid rate and that for the production ofvarious kinds of blocks or other molded articles it is merely necessaryto change the respective parts of the mold, the operation being the samefor all kinds. Also the various molding materials may be operated uponin fulness to any particular kind of molding.

Vhile I have illustrated and described a particular form in which myinvention may be embodied, it will be readily understood that it can becarried out in many other ways within the scope of the claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent 1. A molding-machine comprising a series of rollers,movable tracks mounted thereon, a frame connected with said tracks andadapted to support a mold, a stationary support, and means for movingthe plunger connected with said support.

2. A molding-machine comprising a series of rollers, movable tracksmounted thereon, a frame connected with said tracks and adapted tosupport a mold, a stationary support, means for moving the plungerconnected with said support, and means for moving the tracks and frameon the rollers.

3. A molding-machine comprising a series of rollers, movable tracksmounted thereon, a frame connected With said tracks and adapted tosupport a mold, a stationary support, means for moving the plungerconnected with said support, a feed-box mounted upon the framev in whichthe plunger is designed to operate, and a mold mounted adjacent to saidfeed-box.

4. A molding-machine comprising a movable frame, a mold thereon, afeed-box having an open end located adjacent to said mold and providedwith a longitudinal guide, a bifurcated plunger located in the feed-boxon opposite sides of said guide, a stationary support, and means on saidsupport for moving the plunger through the feed-box.

5. A molding-machine, comprising a feedboX having a guide therein andprovided with an open end, and a plunger in the feed-box adapted to workthrough the open end, to pass on both sides of the guide and to beguided by said guide.

6. A molding-machine comprising a feedboX having a longitudinal guidetherein and provided with an open end, and a bifurcated plunger in thefeed box adapted to work through the open end, the two portions of saidplunger being located upon opposite sides of said guide.

7. A molding-machine comprising a feedboX having an open end, a moldhaving an open end located adjacent to the open end of the feed-box, aplunger in the feed-box adapted to pass through the open ends of thefeed-box and into the mold, and a plate constituting a closure for theopen end of the mold and pro-- vided with perforations for the receptionof said plunger.

8. A molding-machine comprising a feedbox having an open end, amoldhaving an open end located adjacent to the open end of the feed-box, aplunger in the feed-box adapted to pass through the open ends of thefeed-box and mold into the mold, a plate constituting a closure for theopen end of the mold and provided with perforations for the reception ofsaid plunger, and means for moving said plate igcross the space betweenthe mold and feed- 9. A molding-machine comprising a feedbox having anopen end, a mold having an open end located adjacent to the open end ofthe feed-box, a plunger in the feed-box adapted to pass through the openends of the feed-box and mold into the mold, a plate constitutingaciosure for the open end of the mold and provided with perforations forthe reception of said plunger, and means for moving said plate acrossthe space between the mold and feedbox; said means comprising a leverpivotally mounted upon the molding-machine and pivotally connected withsaid plate.

10. A molding-machine comprising a feedbox having an open end, a moldhaving an open end located adjacent to the open end of the feed-box, aplunger in the feed-box adapted to pass through the open ends of thefeed-box and mold into the mold, a plateconstitutinga closure for theopen end of the mold and provided with perforations for the reception ofsaid plunger, and a core-piece rigidly mounted with respect to saidplate and located in the center thereof.

11. A molding-machine comprising a feedbox, a mold located adjacentthereto, a plunger in the feed-box adapted to enter the mold, a platemovable between the mold and feedbox and having perforations for thereception of the plunger, a core-piece on the plate, a second core-pieceat the opposite end of the mold, and a movable core within the mold.

12. A molding-machine comprising a feedboX, a mold located adjacentthereto, a plunger in the feed-box adapted to enter the mold, a platemovable between the mold and feedbox and having perforations for thereception of the plunger, acore-piece on the plate, a second core-pieceat the opposite end of the mold, and a movable core within the mold;each of said cores and core-pieces being provided with a lever pivotallymounted upon a shaft located on the machine for operating the cores andcore-pieces and withdrawing them from the mold.

13. A molding-machine comprising a mold havingan end piece movabletransverse to the longitudinal direction of the mold, an end piece onthe opposite end movable in a direction parallel to the longitudinaldirection of the mold, and a top plate movable away from the main bodyof the mold.

1a. A moldingmachine having two end plates, one movable in one directionand the otherin a direction at right angles thereto, said mold alsohaving two side plates movable in a curved path away from the body ofthe mold.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

BENJAMIN l RANKLlN POTTER.

\lVitnesses:

DON V. PARKER, R. W. CALVIN.

